The proposed Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Health Disparities (CAIANHD) will be organized in terms of 5 Core components: an Administrative Core (Core A), a Research Core (Core B), a Community Outreach and Information Dissemination Core (Core C), a Native Investigator Training Core (Core D), and a Shared Resources Core (Core E). Dedra S. Buchwald, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine, UW, will lead Core D. Personnel, resources and activities originate from both the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) and the University of Washington (UW), drawing on their respective strengths and affiliations. The specific aims of the Training Core are to: 1) increase the number of AllAN professionals capable of conducting research in areas of high priority among Native people, in particular those that improve the quality of care, and reduce the minority/non-minority differential in health status, and access to needed care, as well as the consequences thereof; 2) establish and maintain leaming and mentoring relationships between established researchers and junior Al/AN faculty; 3) improve the analytic and methodological skills of such investigators by partidpation in secondary data analysis and primary data collection efforts intended to result in improved health care, and reduced health status and access differentials between AI/ANs and their non-Native counterparts. This includes training and mentoring in the application of methodologies to research questions; 4) publish manuscripts based on the secondary data analysis and Pilot Studies, and use these as the basis for preparing independent investigator-initiated awards led by junior AllAN researchers, and 5) increase the understanding of unique data collection and human subject protection issues that are critical to conducting research in AllAN communities, particularly as they pertain to study design, implementation, and measurement issues. This inter-institutional collaboration extends the close working relationship that has developed over the past 8 years in AllAN research between the 2 institutions and among the Core Faculty. Given the relatively limited resources of Project EXPORT for faculty development and the expense of training independent researchers, we will augment an established program directed by the UCHSC and UW by adding 2 Health Disparities Fellows to each of the next two 2-year program cohorts. The Native Investigator Core (NIC) is part of the Native Elder Research Center, 1 of 6 Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research funded by the NIA. The NIC is a highly successful program that provides intensive, long-term mentoring of promising, well-trained AllAN health professionals (Native Investigators or NIs) modeled on the RWJF Scholars Program and others like it.